NBA news: LeBron is out, Celtics drop, Giannis talks trash
In NBA news this morning, the Lakers may have missed their chance with LeBron James out for an extended period. Giannis also talks trash and more.
After another wild night in the NBA, a superstar being out is derailing a revamped roster, the Celtics drop in the standings, and Giannis went on The Daily Show to make some fun headlines.
NBA news: LeBron out for weeks, potentially months.
According to Shams Charnaia, LeBron James will be out for the next couple of weeks with a right foot injury. While he did suffer this injury during the game against Dallas, this has been something that James has been dealing with for a while. The Lakers seemed to be on the right track after making moves at the deadline and winning three straight games (with their newly acquired pieces).
It seems now they are back on the wrong track as James could not be back till the play-in tournament (if they make it that far). The Lakers are currently only a half-game back of the Pelicans for a spot in the play-in but with the recent news of this injury, they might not even make the play-in.
As stated in a previous article, these moves were basically the Lakers’ off-season moves made six months ahead of time. Still, not making the play-in would not be ideal. With James out, the Lakers’ ceiling for this season is making the play-in and making the first round of the playoffs a very competitive series against a top seed.
NBA news: Celtics drop to the two seed after losing to the Knicks
After Jayson Tatum was ejected in a loss to the Knicks, the Boston Celtics fell to the second seed in the East. The Bucks are now in first place in the East, riding a 14-game winning streak which will most likely continue against the Nets, and Magic.
With the Celtics and Bucks having very little talent difference between them, a trip to the NBA Finals might come down to who has a homecourt advantage in the series. While the Sixers are the other top favorite in the East, the Celtics and Bucks are the top two teams in the conference by a considerable talent margin. These two teams could be trading homecourt advantage for the rest of the season it seems.
NBA news: Giannis Antetokounmpo has fun on The Daily Show
As the Bucks are in New York for night playing the Nets tonight (or tomorrow night when the show aired), Giannis Antetokoumpo made an appearance on The Daily Show. Antekounmpo took fun little jabs at Kevin Durant and LeBron James in a night full of fun-no consequences teasing.
Next. The best NBA Draft pick of all time at every slot. dark
Check out The Step Back for more news, analysis, opinion and unique basketball coverage. Don’t forget to follow us on Twitter and Instagram and subscribe to our daily email newsletter, The Whiteboard.